High Groundwater Potential Zones Research Articles

Future groundwater potential mapping using machine learning algorithms and climate change scenarios in Bangladesh

The aim of the study was to estimate future groundwater potential zones based on machine learning algorithms and climate change scenarios. Fourteen parameters (i.e., curvature, drainage density, slope, roughness, rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, lineament density, land use and land cover, general soil types, geology, geomorphology, topographic position index (TPI), topographic wetness index (TWI)) were used in developing machine learning algorithms. Three machine learning algorithms (i.e., artificial neural network (ANN), logistic model tree (LMT), and logistic regression (LR)) were applied to identify groundwater potential zones. The best-fit model was selected based on the ROC curve. Representative concentration pathways (RCP) of 2.5, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5 climate scenarios of precipitation were used for modeling future climate change. Finally, future groundwater potential zones were identified for 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040 based on the best machine learning model and future RCP models. According to findings, ANN shows better accuracy than the other two models (AUC: 0.875). The ANN model predicted that 23.10 percent of the land was in very high groundwater potential zones, whereas 33.50 percent was in extremely high groundwater potential zones. The study forecasts precipitation values under different climate change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, and RCP8.5) for 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040 using an ANN model and shows spatial distribution maps for each scenario. Finally, sixteen scenarios were generated for future groundwater potential zones. Government officials may utilize the study’s results to inform evidence-based choices on water management and planning at the national level.

Estimating groundwater resources in an equatorial forested basin using geographic information system and remote sensing techniques (case of Nyong, South Cameroon)

ABSTRACT This article aims to produce a groundwater potential zone (GWPZ) map of the Nyong basin using an integrated analytical hierarchy process driven in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. For this, seven parameters (rainfall, geology, slopes, drainage density, land use and land cover, lineament density, and soil) known to influence the availability of groundwater were considered. The results obtained show that the Eastern part of the basin holds the largest quantities of groundwater. The produced map shows that this region includes high and very high GWPZs (yield > 6 l/s). It is essentially characterized by abundant rainfall (on average 135–136 and 131–134 mm), low slopes, significant drainage and lineament densities, and significant forest cover. On the other hand, the opposite region (west), which includes the low and very low GWPZs, is characterized by less abundant precipitation (on average 121–125 and 125–128 mm), significant slopes, lower drainage and lineament densities, and greater impervious areas. With a success rate of 80%, confidence deserves to be placed in the GWPZs map produced. It can be considered in water supply projects in this basin. Such work has never been done in this basin before.

Groundwater potential zone mapping of middle Andaman using multi-criteria decision-making and support vector machine

Groundwater is a vital resource crucial to human survival worldwide and plays a significant role in addressing climate change. The multi-criteria decision method and support vector machine technique were used to demarcate the groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) of Middle Andaman. A total of 11 factors including geology, geomorphology, LULC map, lineament density, distance from Active Fault, groundwater level, distance from the sea, slope, drainage density, distance from major earthquakes, and distance from epicenter hotspots were used to calculate GWPZ. Spatially distributed maps/thematic layers of all of the above factors were generated using remotely sensed data as well as ground data. Each factor was assigned weights based on preceding global and regional research and the influence of each layer on groundwater. Finally, all thematic layers were used for multi-criteria decision analysis to create a map depicting the GWPZ of Middle Andaman. A support vector machine (SVM) tool was used to demarcate the potential zone based on the signature obtained from overlay analysis. The resulting map was divided into four categories: very high, high, low, and very low groundwater potential zones. SVM classification result showed that most of Middle Andaman's areas come under the low to very low GWPZ (63.4%), followed by high GWPZ (27%), and 10.6% of very high GWPZ. SVM classification resulted in overall accuracy, kappa coefficient, and the area in the ROC curve of 91.66%, 0.87, and 0.64 respectively. The analysis revealed a correlation between each factor and the Multi-Criteria Decision Method (MCDM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), indicating that the majority of geological and geomorphological features are linked to lower groundwater potential. Further, the result was compared with groundwater fluctuation data of the middle Andaman. Finally, this study provides an expedient approach to delineating the GWPZ for practical management and use of the area's groundwater resources to maintain the island's sustainability.

PROTECTIVE CAPACITY ASSESSMENT OF A SHALLOW AQUIFERAT THE EASTERN PART OF ADO-EKITI, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) survey has been undertaken at the eastern part of Ado-Ekiti, southwestern Nigeria to assessthe aquifer protective capacity of the overburden units of the area. The Schlumberger electrode array was adopted with a maximumcurrent electrode spread (AB) of 300 m.Thirty-six(36) VES points wasoccupied and processed through a partial curve matching technique and 1-D forward modelingcomputer-assistedsoftware.The interpretation revealed H, A, KH and HA-type curves and threemajor geoelectric layers overlying the resistive basement. The groundwater potential and overburden protective capacity maps were prepared. The groundwater in the area was categorized into high, medium and low groundwater potential zones. About 80% of thestudy area falls within the moderate/low groundwater potential zone while the remaining 20% constituted the high groundwater potential zone (Agric Olope area). Hence, thegroundwater potential rating of other areas is considered to be low. The values of longitudinal conductance (ranging from 0.01 to 2.01 mhos) of the area enabled the overburden units to be rated into good, moderate and weakprotective capacity. About 75% of the area falls within the good/moderate rating while 25% constitutes the weak/poorprotective capacity rating (Agric Olope area), suggesting that the groundwater around Agric Olope isvulnerable to contamination.

Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones for Sustainable Development and Planning using AHP and GIS Techniques in the Coal Mining Province of Mahan River Catchment Area

The present research aims to address the drinking water crisis in the Mahan River catchment area resulting from the disruption of groundwater availability due to extensive coal mining. The study uses GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to map the groundwater potential of the area by analysing several factors that affect groundwater availability, including rainfall, water depth, geomorphology, geology, soil, land-cover/land-use, and topographic characteristics derived from DEM. The groundwater potential map created using the MCDA technique classified the area into low, moderate, and high groundwater potential zones. The map was validated and verified using water table depth and electrical conductivity values available in the region, indicating that it can be used to identify groundwater recharging sites. The study’s results show that about 30% of the area has high groundwater potential, and more than 45% of the area has moderate groundwater potential. The information derived from the study can be used for sustainable management and proper planning of groundwater resources in the Mahan River catchment area. Overall, the study presents a useful approach to address the groundwater depletion problem resulting from coal mining activities in the Mahan River catchment area.

Mapping of Groundwater Potential Zones in the Kuzhithuraiyar Sub Basin of Kodayar River, Kanniyakumari District, Tamilnadu: Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS


 
 
 Groundwater plays a very important role for all living beings. It is decisive to have a scientific understanding of groundwater management since, with careful use and replenishment, groundwater may help solve issues. The distribution of groundwater tables, slope, land-form, drainage pattern, lithology, topography, geological structure, fracturing density, opening and connectivity of fractures, secondary porosity, and landuse landcover all affect the occurrence and efficiency of groundwater in an aquifer system. An essential tool for assessing, tracking and protecting groundwater resources is the integration of geospatial techniques such as Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System for the identification of groundwater potential zones. This study aims to find the groundwater potential zones using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and managing the resources by creating different thematic layers such as rainfall, geology, geomorphology, drainage density, soil, slope, lineament and landuse landcover (LULC) of the Kuzhithuraiyar sub basin of the Kodayar river in Tamilnadu using the application of geospatial technologies. The thematic maps for all the thematic layers have been prepared using tools such as Interpolation, contour lines, Classification in ArcGIS 10.8. Theme weight and class rank were assigned to different thematic layers in weighed overlay analysis. The results were validated through field work and groundwater potential map was created. The groundwater potential zonation mapping was done by the overlay analysis in ArcGIS 10.8 software. The obtained map was classified into four categories namely very high groundwater potential zone, high groundwater potential zone, medium groundwater potential zone and low groundwater potential zone. The North Eastern part of the basin is considered as low groundwater potential zone while the Southern portion has high groundwater potentiality. The low groundwater potential zone covers an area of 10.58 sq.km and high groundwater potential zone covers an area of about 388.37sq.km.This study will be helpful for useful groundwater management for different tenacities.
 
 

Mapping groundwater potential zone using groundwater potentiality index in Sulamu, Central Fatuleu and West Fatuleu, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Water scarcity often occurs during the dry season in Kupang Regency, which is a semi-arid area. The drought limits surface water availability during the dry season, thus making groundwater one of the reliable solutions for fulfilling the need for water from springs and wells. Therefore, mapping the potential of groundwater in the research area becomes the aim of this study, which has never been conducted before. The method used in this research is the Groundwater Potentiality Index, which uses five parameters to identify groundwater potential areas: fracture, lithology, topography, drainage, and rainfall. Field observation and secondary data collection were conducted to provide those parameters. The results are groundwater potential index classified into five groundwater potential zones, resulting in very low (17.07% and 20.39% of total area), low (51.16% and 48.94% of total area), moderate (26.9% and 27.05% of total area), high (4.09% and 3.1% of total area), and very high (0.77% and 0.53% of total area). Zones of very high are found along major fault areas. Areas with high groundwater potential zones indicated favorable conditions for wells positioning at groundwater exploration. These results can be a basis for action related to groundwater resource development in the research area.

Assessment of groundwater potential and determination of influencing factors using remote sensing and machine learning algorithms: A study of Nainital district of Uttarakhand state, India

Exponential increase in population, rapid urbanization and industrialization have increased the demand of water globally. Groundwater is an important resource in hilly and mountainous regions during dry spells. Thus, identifying prospective groundwater zones is crucial for conserving and managing groundwater. The study makes an attempt to assess groundwater potential in the Nainital district of a hill state in India. Random forest, multi-layer perceptron, M5P and REPTree algorithms were used for preparing groundwater potential maps. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the influence of site-specific parameters on groundwater potential. Each model was evaluated through performance successors and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for its effectiveness in groundwater potential assessment. Multi-layer perceptron was found best fit model for groundwater potential assessment. Largest area was found under high to very high groundwater potential zones in the plain area of the district (48 %), followed by very low to low in the hilly area (46 %) and moderate in the transition zone (7 %). Rainfall, lineament density and drainage density were found significant factors for influencing groundwater potential. The methodology adopted in this study has proved effective in groundwater potential assessment. The other geographical regions may find this methodology useful for groundwater management.

Delineation of groundwater potential zone using remote sensing and GIS-based AHP for sustainable groundwater management in Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia

Sustainable groundwater management is crucial for ensuring the long-term availability of water resources and supporting socio-economic activities. As water demands increase and hydrological systems become more complex, accurately identifying groundwater potential zones is essential for effective resource planning and utilization. However, the in-situ data availability is often very limited, particularly on a regional scale. To solve this problem, this study aimed to delineate groundwater potential zones in Aceh Besar Regency using remote sensing and a GIS-based AHP (analytical hierarchy process). Several factors were used to determine groundwater potential zones, including lithology, land use/land cover, slope, lineament density, drainage density, rainfall, and soil type. Each factor was weighted based on an extensive literature review and knowledge-driven decision-making techniques. The results indicated that 26.35% of the area was classified as having low groundwater potential, whereas 53.86% was classified as moderate. Areas that have high to very high groundwater potential cover 16.76% to 3.04% of the Aceh Besar territory. The high groundwater potential zones were mostly located in alluvial and clastic sediments lithology, gentle slopes, and had high annual rainfall. Meanwhile, areas with igneous and metamorphic lithology as well as steep slopes, had moderate to low groundwater potential. Validation was carried out by collecting the high-yield existing production wells and calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with relatively good accuracy (74.5%). This research has effectively described the spatial distribution of groundwater potential, contributing to sustainable groundwater management and enabling informed decision-making for sustainable groundwater practices.

Geophysical Approach for Groundwater Resource Assessment: A Case Study of Oda Community Akure, Southwestern Nigeria

The geophysical investigation for groundwater was carried out at Oda town, Akure south local government area of Ondo State. Fourteen (14) points were sounded using a Schlumberger array with AB/2 of 80 m and the resulting geoelectric parameters were used in the estimation of the aquifer layer parameters of the subsurface. The first layer resistivity value ranges from 29 to 164 Ωm and thickness ranges from 0.6 to 2.5 m. The second layer has a resistivity value ranging from 21-1361 Ωm with a thickness ranging from 1.5 m to 14.6 m. The third layer resistivity value is from 68 to 297 Ωm with thickness ranging from 4 m to 12.4 m. The fourth layer which is the deepest layer has a resistivity value ranging from 180 to 4364 Ωm with depth ranging from 4 m to 19.5 m. The parameters interpreted from the geoelectric data were used to generate the aquifer thickness and resistivity maps, with bedrock relief which were combined to produce the groundwater potential map of the area. These maps were used to characterise the study area into low to high groundwater potential zones. The southwestern and eastern parts were identified as productive groundwater potential zones. The result was validated by taking water column depth from eight existing hand-dug wells. A significant correlation was obtained between the groundwater potential model and the well water column. The surveyed area is generally suitable for hand-dug well aside from the north-eastern part where groundwater potential is low and water volume is observed.

Evaluation of Groundwater Potential Using Aquifer Characteristics in Urambo District, Tabora Region, Tanzania

In developing countries like Tanzania, groundwater studies are essential for water resource planning, development, and management. Limited hydrogeological information on groundwater occurrence, availability, and distribution in Urambo District is termed a key factor that hinders groundwater development. This research was aimed at the evaluation of groundwater potential zones in a granitic gneiss aquifer in Urambo District by integrating six indicators (transmissivity, specific capacity, static water level, yield, total dissolved solids, and geology) that were developed and applied in the study area. The indicators were further combined, and a groundwater potential index map (GWPIM) was prepared using relative weights derived from the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results show that 67% and 27% of the study area are categorized as moderate and high groundwater potential zones, respectively. Groundwater is controlled by both Quaternary sediments (sands and gravels) and weathered to fractured granitic gneiss. Quaternary sediments host the major shallow aquifers (<35 m) with relatively high transmissivity, specific capacity, and yield (1.5 m2/day, 16.36 m2/day, and 108 m3/day, respectively). Granitic gneiss is not strongly fractured/weathered and forms an aquifer with a relatively low yield of about 10.08 m3/day. The findings were validated using three boreholes, and the results are consistent with the developed GWPIM. Such findings are of great importance in groundwater development as the techniques applied can be extended to other areas in Tanzania as well as other countries that experience similar geological environments.

An integrated groundwater resource management approach for sustainable development in a tropical river basin, southern India.

Evaluation of aquifer potential is essential, as thepotable water demand has increased globally over the last few decades. The present study delineated different zones of groundwater potential and groundwater quality of the Kallada River basin (KRB) in southern India, using geo-environmental and hydrogeochemical parameters, respectively. Geo-environmental variables considered include relative relief, land use/land cover, drainage density, slope angle, geomorphology, and geology, while hydrogeochemical parameters include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Cl-, Fe3+, and Al3+ concentrations. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used for categorizing groundwater potential and quality zones. Nearly 50% of KRB is categorized as very high and high groundwater potential zones, occupying the western and midland regions. The central and west-central parts of KRB are characterized by excellent groundwater quality zones, while the eastern and western parts are characterized by good and poor groundwater quality zones, respectively. By integrating the groundwater potential and groundwater quality, sustainable groundwater management is observed to be necessary at about 54% of the basin, where site-specific groundwater management structures such as percolation ponds, injection wells, and roof water harvesting have been proposed using a rule-based approach. This integrated groundwater potential-groundwater quality approach helps policymakers to implement the most suitable management strategies with maximum performance.

Mapping of heterogeneity on groundwater level and potential zones along expeditiously urbanizing tropical coastal regions

The study of coastal groundwater potential is critical as freshwater availability is under tremendous stress due to increased coastal region development and noticeable monsoonal changing patterns over time. In addition to these factors, Odisha's coastal region has a larger drainage network in low-lying plains, which reduces freshwater recharge by increasing surface discharge. To sustain freshwater usage, the demarcation of the Groundwater potential zone (GWPZ) was done using Geographic Information System (GIS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Multi Influence Factor (MIF). Factors such as geomorphology, geology, land use/land cover, rainfall, lineament density, drainage density, elevation, slope, and soil were considered to accurately predict GWPZ. The AHP technique was used to construct a pairwise comparison matrix (PCM) and assign weights to each thematic layer, whereas the MIF method computes a recommended score for each layer based on the sum of the major and minor effect weights. The findings demonstrate that a significant portion of the study area falls into the "good" GWPZ (∼ 83% for both methods) category, indicating that the aquifer's storage is adequate. The output was validated by the Receiver operating curve (ROC) and groundwater prospects data. The ROC findings showed that the Area under curve (AUC) was 81% and 80.1% for AHP and MIF, respectively. This outcome signifies moderate to high precision indicating that the model could make accurate positive predictions. Analysis of pre-monsoon and post-monsoon water levels reveals spatial variations, with lower water levels indicating higher potential. Water levels in low-lying plains with high groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) are declining due to coastal erosion, sediment accumulation, limited infiltration, and increasing seawater intrusion. Continued groundwater abstraction may aggravate seawater intrusion despite favorable geological conditions. This study would be advantageous for coastal region decision-making involving water resource management and planning for sustainable development.

Characterization of Groundwater Potential Zones from a Tropical River Basin, Southern Western Ghats, India

The increasing demands for groundwater resources and marked changes in climate over the years have imposed immense pressure on global groundwater resources. The present study has been undertaken to emphasize the expediency of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) to delineate the groundwater potential of a small tropical river basin of Kerala (India), viz., Thuthapuzha River Basin. Atotal of 10 geo-environmental thematic layers such as Geology, Geomorphology, Drainage density, Rainfall, Soil, Slope, Topographic Position Index, Groundwater level and Curvature were prepared and studied for groundwater potential zone demarcation. Weights assigned to each class in all the thematic maps are based on their characteristics and water potential capacity through Weighed overlay method (WoM). The groundwater potential zone map subsequently obtained was classified into five classes-very high, high, moderate, low and very low. The study reveals that about 63% of the river basin is covered under a moderate groundwater potential zone. The low and high groundwater potential zones are observed at 27% and 9%, respectively. The area under very high and very low potential zones is recorded only in very limited areas (>1%) in the basin. Keywords: Groundwater Potential Zone; Weighed Overlay Method (WoM); GIS; Thuthapuzha River; Kerala

Mapping Groundwater Potential Zones in the Habawnah Basin of Southern Saudi Arabia: An AHP- and GIS-based Approach

The excessive depletion of groundwater resources and significant climate change have exerted immense pressure on global groundwater reserves. Owing to the rising global demand for drinking water, as well as its use in agriculture and industry, there is an increasing need to evaluate the capacity and effectiveness of underground water reservoirs (aquifers). Recently, GIS has gained significant attention for groundwater exploration because of its ability to provide rapid and comprehensive information about resources for further development. This study aims to assess and map the groundwater potential of a large basin located in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. Techniques such as GIS and AHP were employed in this study. To perform the delineation for the groundwater potential zones (GWPZ), seven thematic layers were prepared and analyzed. These layers include geology, slope, land use, lineament densities, soil characteristics, drainage density, and rainfall. These variables were carefully considered and examined to identify and categorize areas based on their respective groundwater potentials. The assigned weights to each class in the thematic maps were determined using the well-known analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. This methodology considered the characteristics of each class and their capacity to influence water potential. The results’ precision was verified by cross-referencing it with existing information about the area’s potential for groundwater. The resulting GWPZ map was classified into the following five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The study revealed that approximately 42.56% of the basin is classified as having a high GWPZ. The low and moderate potential zones cover 36.12% and 19.55% of the area, respectively. Very low and very high potential zones were found only in a limited number of areas within the basin. This study holds global importance as it addresses the pressing challenge of depleting groundwater resources. With rising demands for drinking water, agriculture, and industry worldwide, the effective evaluation and management of underground water reservoirs are crucial. By utilizing GIS and AHP techniques, this study provides a valuable assessment and the mapping of groundwater potential in a large basin in southern Saudi Arabia. Its findings and methodology can serve as a model for other regions, supporting sustainable water resource management globally.

Integration of hydrogeological data, GIS and AHP techniques applied to delineate groundwater potential zones in sandstone, limestone and shales rocks of the Damoh district, (MP) central India

The Damoh district, which is located in the central India and characterized by limestone, shales, and sandstone compact rock. The district has been facing groundwater development challenges and problems for several decades. To facilitate groundwater management, it is crucial to monitoring and planning based on geology, slope, relief, land use, geomorphology, and the types of the basaltic aquifer in the drought-groundwater deficit area. Moreover, the majority of farmers in the area are heavily dependent on groundwater for their crops. Therefore, delineation of groundwater potential zones (GPZ) is essential, which is defined based on various thematic layers, including geology, geomorphology, slope, aspect, drainage density, lineament density, topographic wetness index (TWI), topographic ruggedness index (TRI), and land use/land cover (LULC). The processing and analysis of this information were carried out using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. The validity of the results was trained and tested using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, which showed training and testing accuracies of 0.713 and 0.701, respectively. The GPZ map was classified into five classes such as very high, high, moderate, low, and very low. The study revealed that approximately 45% of the area falls under the moderate GPZ, while only 30% of the region is classified as having a high GPZ. The area receives high rainfall but has very high surface runoff due to no proper developed soil and lack of water conservation structures. Every summer season show a declined groundwater level. In this context, results of study area are useful to maintain the groundwater under climate change and summer season.The GPZ map plays an important role in implementing artificial recharge structures (ARS), such as percolation ponds, tube wells, bore wells, cement nala bunds (CNBs), continuous contour trenching (CCTs), and others for development of ground level. This study is significant for developing sustainable groundwater management policies in semi-arid regions, that are experiencing climate change. Proper groundwater potential mapping and watershed development policies can help mitigate the effects of drought, climate change, and water scarcity, while preserving the ecosystem in the Limestone, Shales, and Sandstone compact rock region. The results of this study are essential for farmers, regional planners, policy-makers, climate change experts, and local governments, enabling them to understand the groundwater development possibilities in the study area.

Groundwater quality enumeration and health risk in the extended part of Chhotanagpur granite gneiss complex of India.

The majority of people on the earth bank largely on groundwater to quench their thirst. In the era of rapid population growth, the over-exploitation of groundwater gives rise to water scarcity, and people find themselves in distress to manage safe drinking water. In this backdrop, the present study is carried out in the terrain of Pre-Cambrian igneous and high- to low-graded metamorphic rocks, to assess the groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) and evaluation of groundwater quality. The map of GWPZ is produced employing the multi-criteria decision-making model and geospatial technology. It unveils that around 29% area of the watershed enjoys good GWPZ, whereas around 43% area experiences low GWPZ. The overall accuracy of the simulated model is 92%. The water quality index indicates that 68% of water samples belong to excellent to good water quality. A significant proportion of water samples (24%) are found to be unsuitable for drinking, which may be due to groundwater contamination by the process of leaching of mineral-rich weathered rocks. The presence of fluoride (F-) beyond the maximum permissible limit (1.5mg L-1) of WHO is recorded among 18% samples of the watershed, where 24,963 souls including 3457 children aged between 0 and 6years lived and might have ingested F- through drinking water. Hence, the health risk of those people is quite high. Children are at a more non-carcinogenic health risk of F- than adults. The study also confirms no statistically significant difference (p ˃ 0.05) is observed between low and high GWPZ with respect to groundwater quality. The study recommends adopting a sustainable outlook to explore GWPZ, and an assessment of drinking water quality must be done before drinking.

Integrated GIS, Remote Sensing, and Electrical Resistivity Tomography Methods for the Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Sangaw Sub-Basin, Sulaymaniyah, KRG-Iraq

In the Sangaw region, groundwater is the primary supply of water for drinking, residential purposes, livestock, and summer farming activities. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to delineate groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) in the Sangaw sub-basin, Sulaymaniyah, KRG-Iraq, by integrating geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing (RS), analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) techniques. Seven different thematic layers, including geology, rainfall, slope, lineament density, land use/land cover, drainage density, and topographic position index, were chosen as the prediction factors. The analytical method of an analytical hierarchy process pair-wise matrix was used to evaluate the normalized weight of these thematic layers. All the layers and their corresponding classes were assigned ranks and weights based on their impact on groundwater potential. Using ArcGIS, these thematic maps were combined to precisely determine the groundwater potential map within the research area. Five different potential zones were generated for the resulting map, namely, very low (55.4 km2), low (90.4 km2), moderate (68.1 km2), high (100 km2), and very high (62.4 km2). The findings revealed that almost 43.2% of the study region is characterized by high to very high groundwater potential zones. In contrast, the very low to low groundwater potential covers around 38.7%, and the moderate groundwater potential occupies 18.1% of the study region. The final map was then validated using results from the two-dimensional inverse sections of eight electrical resistivity tomography profiles. The validation data confirmed that groundwater potential classes strongly overlap with the subsurface water-bearing or non-bearing lithology, and groundwater productivity zones in the given area. The novelty of this research lies in the application of electrical resistivity tomography validation to the groundwater potential mapping approach, which illustrates the robustness of the overall methodology for data-scarce areas. Furthermore, this is one of the very few groundwater potential studies in Iraq and the first in the Sangaw sub-basin, which can assist decision-makers with groundwater prospecting and management, and enable further exploration in the region.

Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping in the Ghaggar River Basin, North-West India, Using Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

The immense dependence of the growing population on groundwater has resulted in depletion at a fast pace can be seen nowadays. Identifying a groundwater potential zone can be proved as an aid to provide insight to the decision-makers and local authorities for planning purposes. This study evaluated the delineation of groundwater potential zones using integrated remote sensing and GIS approach. Various thematic layers such as geology, geomorphology, lineament, slope, drainage, soil, land use/land cover, and rainfall were considered in this study as these have influence on the occurrence of groundwater and its cycle, and maps have been prepared in GIS domain. Afterward, appropriate weights were assigned to these layers based on multi-criteria decision analysis, i.e., Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Groundwater potentiality has been delineated in different zones (low, moderate, high, and very high) in the study region based on weighted overlay analysis. The study reveals zones with different groundwater prospects viz. low (1.27%), moderate (15.65%), high (75.54%), and very high (7.29%). The ground survey data provided by CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) of nearly 100 wells/dug wells/borewells/piezometers have been used for validation purposes, showing comparable results with the groundwater prospects zones. It also confirms that the majority of these wells fall under very high or high groundwater potential zones. They were also found to be thereby indicating that there is the existence of a permeable reservoir with considerable water storage in the subsurface. One of the most important issues for users and governments is groundwater depletion. Planning for the available groundwater resource is made easier by identifying the potential for groundwater (low to high).

Spatial Prediction of Groundwater Withdrawal Potential Using Shallow, Hybrid, and Deep Learning Algorithms in the Toudgha Oasis, Southeast Morocco

Water availability is a key factor in territorial sustainable development. Moreover, groundwater constitutes the survival element of human life and ecosystems in arid oasis areas. Therefore, groundwater potential (GWP) identification represents a crucial step for its management and sustainable development. This study aimed to map the GWP using ten algorithms, i.e., shallow models comprising: multilayer perceptron, k-nearest neighbor, decision tree, and support vector machine algorithms; hybrid models comprising: voting, random forest, adaptive boosting, gradient boosting (GraB), and extreme gradient boosting; and the deep learning neural network. The GWP inventory map was prepared using 884 binary data, with “1” indicating a high GWP and “0” indicating an extremely low GWP. Twenty-three GWP-influencing factors have been classified into numerical data using the frequency ration method. Afterwards, they were selected based on their importance and multi-collinearity tests. The predicted GWP maps show that, on average, only 11% of the total area was predicted as a very high GWP zone and 17% and 51% were estimated as low and very low GWP zones, respectively. The performance analyses demonstrate that the applied algorithms have satisfied the validation standards for both training and validation tests with an average area under curve of 0.89 for the receiver operating characteristic. Furthermore, the models’ prioritization has selected the GraB model as the outperforming algorithm for GWP mapping. This study provides decision support tools for sustainable development in an oasis area.